Shortly following his withdrawal from the UFC
161 main event, the interim bantamweight champion took to
Twitter to reassure fans that he will return action as soon as his
foot injury is fully healed.

“That's it, guys. Unfortunately I am out of UFC 161. But my injury
is not as severe, and soon I'll be back. I would like to thank
everyone [for their] support,” wrote Barao. “Thank you for [the]
caring and concern. I'll come back even stronger. It's a pity,
because I'm dying to train. [It] is a test of my will, but it is
better to recover fully as soon as possible.”

Just 26 years old, Barao has already competed more than 30 times as
a professional and has not lost since his debut back in 2005. The
Nova Uniao ace joined the UFC two years ago and rifled off a trio
of victories before outpointing Urijah Faber
to win the interim bantamweight belt last July. Barao most recently
defended that title for the first time against young gun Michael
McDonald, submitting the Californian with a fourth-round
arm-triangle choke this past February at UFC on Fuel TV 7.

Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis are set to square off for the interim featherweight title this Saturday at UFC 206. The matchup was slated as the show's main event after an injury forced Daniel Cormiread news >>